A rogue electrician put lives at risk with his botched work. John Waugh admitted 23 counts of breaching building regulations with his shoddy repairs, in the first prosecution of its kind.

A court heard his electrical work could have had fatal consequences.

Waugh, 47, of St Alban's Crescent, Heaton, Newcastle, was fined a total of #16,000.

At Newcastle magistrates' court, chairman of the bench, Jim Brennan, himself a qualified electrician, said: "This could have resulted in death or serious injury and we are applying fines accordingly."

Waugh faced two lots of charges for each offence, as the director of Able Electrical and as the workman who carried out rewiring.

Photographs of his work at the Newcastle home of Michael and Michelle Taberham were shown to the court, revealing the extent of the danger. They showed wires held together by plastic connectors and covered by tape. Waugh should have used proper junction boxes.

The court heard 10 people die every year because of faulty electrical work, with a further 750 seriously hurt.

Mrs Taberham, 32, said she and her child could have been killed by Waugh's incompetence. She called in Waugh when she wanted her Mayfield Gardens house, in Throckley, rewired.

The human resources worker contacted his firm in February 2005. When he provided a quote he did so on paper which included the logo of the NICEIC - the governing body for the electrical industry which only admits approved members.

She paid him a #500 deposit for the work which started in March. When he finished - late - he carried out his own tests proudly rating his work as perfect. He then charged a further #1,600 and promised relevant certificates and guarantees would be delivered. But they never arrived.

After the case Mrs Taberham said: "The whole thing was a disgrace. He was dragging his feet with the work.

"I only took him on because I thought he was NICEIC approved. His quote wasn't the cheapest, but that's what swung it for me.

"He could have killed the lot of us. It's absolutely outrageous how he carried on and I just wonder how many other homes he botched."

Prosecuting for Newcastle Council, Melanie Bulman, said: "The Taberhams entered into correspondence with Waugh but the test certificates never arrived.

"He told them they had been sent by registered post, but when Mrs Taberham checked with the Royal Mail, nothing had been sent."

Michelle contacted the Department of Trade and Industry and the NICEIC, which confirmed Able Electrical was not a member. They put her in touch with a local firm who was a member who came out to inspect Waugh's work.

Miss Bulman said: "The installation wires were very poorly installed and the work was condemned.

"The electrician could not even carry out his own tests for safety reasons and it needed a complete rewire. He was so concerned he contacted Newcastle Council's building department."

The court heard Waugh had been an electrician for 28 years after serving an apprenticeship at Amec shipyard. He set up Able with business partner John Cauldwell and employed his son, also John Waugh.

Although Waugh had a wealth of certificates, he was not a prescribed, competent person.

To carry out the scale of work he did, he should have contacted the local authority who would have carried out inspections as the work was carried out before issuing a completion certificate.

The fact he didn't were three of the offences brought against him and Able.

Waugh admitted a further 20 offences of breaching regulations, including:

Installing cables under the landing floor in a poor manner.

Using old wires which are no longer covered by current regulations.

Not using Residual Circuit Breakers for sockets.

Fining both Waugh and Able Electrical #8,050 each, plus a total of #344 costs, Mr Brennan said: "We have been appalled at the lack of craftsmanship, which should have been applied."

Paul Nichol, principal building contract surveyor for the city council, said: "This could have put at risk the lives of the occupants of the house.

"Mr and Mrs Taberham and their family could easily have sustained serious injuries, possibly fatal, because of the work by Waugh and his company."